Are You a Utility or a Brand?

November 7, 2024

Ron Harrell writes a weekly column for Barrett Media. It is insightful, observational, and well worth your time. Recently he opined about getting your music right and eliminating bad songs. Of course, he is right. Getting the music right is a fundamental tenet of any well-programmed radio station. I’m going to pivot on this and say that picking the right music for your format is the easiest task any programmer faces.

If you’re in a library-based format your target demo has been (over) exposed to hundreds, if not thousands, of titles for decades. Sifting through that chaff eliminates the issues of familiarity. You just have to choose the right hits.

For those in current dependent formats the task is a bit trickier. Even though you have more available analytic tools than ever, predicting future hits still remains more art than science. The dilemma these formats face is: Am I the station my audience turns to for the next new (insert hot artist here) release? Or am I where they go expecting to hear the latest from the greatest?

Many of these questions can be resolved by one thing – local music testing. Yes, there are national playlists, charts, and research that can guide your decision process. However, since radio likes to tout its “live & local” benefit, shouldn’t local music testing be a foundational element of any brand? (Ask P&G that question.)

But I digress. Getting the music right makes you a viable utility. A place where people can turn to and fill a need. Filling the utility role has its advantages. If you are format exclusive, you can get by with a well-crafted play list. But what connections are you creating with your audience? What emotional triggers are you activating?

I believe it was Randy Michaels who once said (paraphrasing here): “No one walks into a room, turns on the light and says: ‘Thank goodness, we have electricity.’”

In today’s media cluttered world, entertainment brands need cheerleaders. We need advocates, influencers, fans; people who are willing to step up and sing our praises. Solid song selection and slick slogans will not move the emotional needle. You need to stand for … something.

Are you fun, entertaining, comforting, relatable, etc.? In short – are you worthy of my time?

Sweat the small stuff. Build great clocks. Get the music right. Excel at the basics. But if that’s all you got then you’re nothing more than a working spigot.

In case you missed Ron’s column, you can find it here.

-Steve Allan, Programming Research Consultant

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